Skelp retort



SKELP RETORT 1955 4' Sheets-Sheet l J. L. ANDERSON Filed May 8,

, 1 2177)!771777? Mari:

Sept. 1. 1936.

Sept. 1, 1936'. J, ANDERSON 2,053,234

SKELP RETORT Filed May 8,- 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY SKELP RETORTFiled May 8, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 1, 1936UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,153,234 SKELP BETOBT Application May 8,1935, Serial No. 20,388

11 Claims.

This invention relates to retorts for heating skelp in the manufactureof welded pipe or tubme.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved retort in whichto heat the edges of the skelp to a condition for welding in a bell orother closing means. The improved retort is intended especially forguiding, protecting, and heating the edges of flat skelp as it is drawnfrom a preheating furnace to a closing die or bell by a drawbench, inthe manner disclosed in'my Patent. No. 2,040,164, dated May 12, 1936.

Another object of the invention is to provide a retort which can bequickly and conveniently opened for immediate removal of any skelp whichbreaks or for any other reason stops in front of thetorches or otherheating means of the retort. The heat used in the retort is of suchintensity that the edges of any skelp which stops in the retort willmelt and run into the grooves and over 3 the guiding surfaces of theretort unless the skelp can .be immediately removed from the retort.Another object of the invention is to provide a retort of the characterindicated which is of simple and rugged construction and inexpensive tomanufacture. v

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying hereof:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation showin the retort of thisinvention in its relation to a skelp heating furnace and draw-bench formaking pipe or tubing;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the retort, partly broken awayand partly in section;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the retort shown in Fig. 2, on a reducedscale; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line l-4 of Fig. 2, with theretort open;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the right-hand half of the structure shownin Fig. 3; v

. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fi 3: i

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 1-1 of Figs. 5 and8;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line 88 of Fig. '1; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 3-4 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 1 shows a retort l0 located in front of the discharge opening of askelp heating furnace ,l l. A closing die or bell I2 is held in thehead-block of a draw-bench l4, and the retort is supported by a base I5extending from the draw-bench.

30 drawings, forming part Skelp l6 heated in the furnace II is drawnthrough the retort llland bell I! by tongs ll, whichconnect with a dogI! on a draw-bench chain it which is moved through suitable sprocketsand gearing by a motor 20. I

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the retort comprises left and right-handretort bodies 2| and '22, through which the edges of the skelp l6 are 5drawn. Long burner blocks 24 in the retorts direct flames against theedges of the skelp, the heating effect of the burners being soproportioned to the lineal speed of the skelp and to the temperature ofwithdrawal from the furnace that the retort flames prepare the edges toweld together when they are brought together in the closing die or belll2.

Each of the retort bodies has a lower section 26 which has agroovedsurface 21 for supporting the edge of the skelp. The surface 21 hasgrooves 28 in line with the jet orifices 30 of the torch. blocks 24. Theproducts of combustion from the torch flames pass out through thegrooves 28 in contact with the surface of the skelp and heat 20 themetal back from the edge faces to reduce heat lost from the edge facesby conduction. With oxyacetylene flames, the envelope gases, which arestrongly reducing, scavenge: the skelp metal of oxid by chemical actionin addition to heating the metal back from the edge faces.

Each of the retort bodies has an upper section 33 with a guide surface34 overlapping the upper face of the skelp. This guide surface 34 isspaced from the surface 21 of the lower section 26 by a distancesomewhat greater than the thickness of the skelp, but it serves tosmooth out any undulations in the skelp and confines the products ofcombustion close to the upper face of the skelp.

Each torch block 24 is held in position in the chamber between the lowerand upper sections of the retort body by screws 36 extending throughslotted ears 31 of the torch blocks and threading into bosses 38 (Fig.4) of the lower section 26. The slots in the ears 31 permit the torchblock 24 to be adjusted with respect tothe edge faces of the skelp toobtain the most advantageous heating of the metal. The bosses 38 holdthe torch block spaced from the lower section 26 to grovligde a passagefor air to enter under the torch loc Referring again to Figs. 2 and 3,the skelp is guided laterally by quadrants 39, which are connected tothe ends of the upper sections 33 by screws 40. These quadrants havecurved guide surfaces ll which form a flaring entrance for the retortinto which the end of the skelp is pulled by the tongs. A flaring exitat the delivery end of the retort is similar to the entrance so that theskelp can bend upward or downward as it leaves the retort when theclosing die or bell is not accurately alined with the retort and inorder to make parts of the retort reversible and interchangeable.

The lower sections 26 are clamped to a retort 60 casting 42 by screws 43(Fig. 2) which extendthrough slots so that the retort bodies can bemoved closer together or further apart to accombolts 45. bolted to thebase I which extends from the draw-bench.

The retort sections 26 and 33 have cooling passages 48, best shown inFig. 4, through which water is circulated to prevent the surfaces 21 and34 from becoming overheated. Fig. 2 shows water inlet and outletconnections 49 and 50 for the lower section 26, and similar connections5| and 52 for the upper section 33. These water conneov tions areomitted from the other view for greater clearness.

The quadrants 39 can be operated, by mechanism which will be described,to raise the upper section 33 and move it back into the position shownin Fig. 4, where it no longer overlaps the edges of the skelp. Thisopening of the retort makes it possible for an attendant to removequickly the remainder of a piece of skelp which breaks or from which thetongs pull off. Such an accident is likely to occur when an attendantcarelessly permits the skelp to become so highly heated in the furnacethat it loses most of its strength and can not stand the force requiredto pull it through the closing die or bell.

In case of any accident which causes the skelp to stop in the retort, itis important to remove it quickly, because the flames from the torchblocks will melt any skelp which stops moving and cause molten metal toflow into the retort. If this occurs, operations must be held up for aconsiderable period while the metal is removed from the retort. There issome accumulation of dirt and slag on the faces of the torch blocks,

retort and torch block conveniently and thor-- oughly in a very shorttime.

The lower sections 26 have downwardly extending end portions 54 (Figs. 7and 8), each of which has supporting surfaces 55 and 56 on which thequadrant 39 is supported when the retort is closed. Fig. 7 shows themanner in which the upper end of the quadrant 39 overlies the surface55. A shoulder 51 (Fig. 8) between the adjacent ends of the surfaces 55and 56 serves as an abutment for a shoulder 58 between the complementarysurfaces of the quadrant 39 and prevents the retort from opening unlessthe upper section 33 and its supporting quadrants 39 are raised enoughto clear the shoulders 51 of the end portions of the lower section 26.

Additional means for holding the retort closed include a latch 60 whichextends upward through a channel 6| in the end of the lower section 26and into a recess 62 in the quadrant 39. The upper end of the latch 60is wider than the part below and extends into a recess atthe upper endof the channel 6i. The extending portion of the latch strikes againstthe bottom face 64 of the recess to limit the downward movement of thelatch.

A shaft 66 extends through a hub near the lower part of the end portion54. A lever 61 fulcrumed on the shaft 66 is connected to the bifurcatedlower end of the latch 60 by a pin 68. The quadrant 39 is connected withthe lever 61 by a pin 10. The shaft 66 extends through a slot II (Fig.5) in the lower end of the-quadrant 39.; l

The levers'61 at both ends of theretort' body 22 are operated by acommon pull link 13, best shown iii-Fig. 6. This link has reduced endsextending intothe levers 61, and is connected at its lower end to a link15 by a pin, 16. The lower end of the link 15 has. a pivot connectionwith an operating. handle ll. The handle TI is secured to a shaft iswhich turns in hubs 19 of the retort casting 42. The shaft 18 extends tothe other side of the retort, as shown in Fig. 3, and a handle 80 issecured to the left end of the shaft 18. This handle 80 is connectedwith the link mechanism for opening the retort body 2|. The connectionof the handles 11 and 80 by the shaft 18 enables an attendant to open orclose both of the retort bodies 2| and 22 simultaneously by operatingeither of the handles 11 and 80'.

The operation of the lever 61 to open the retort body 22 is as follows:

The lever 61 is rocked clockwise about the axis of the shaft 66 to pulldown the latch 60 and raise the pin and with it the quadrant 39 andupper section 33. When the retort is closed, as shown in Fig. 5, theopen part of the slot H is below the shaft 66 so that the quadrant 39can rise with the pin 10 sufficiently to clear the shoulder 51. Theheight of this shoulder determines the length of the slot II. I

When thequadrant rises until the lower end of the slot 1| comes intocontact with the shaft 66, further upward movement of the pin 10 causesthe quadrant 39 to rock clockwise on the shaft 66 as a fulcrum, into theopen position shownln Fig. 4.

The retort is closed again by rocking the lever 61 counterclockwise sothat pin 10 moves the quadrant 39 and upper section 33 toward closedposition. The quadrant 39 is not supported by the shaft 66 when open,but is supported during its closing movement by the surface 56 which iscylindrical about the shaft 66 as a center. When the shoulder 58 comesinto line with the shoulder 51, the quadrant 39 drops into its closedposition shown in Figs. 5 and 8. I

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, butchanges and modifications can be made, and some features of theinvention can be used alone without departing from the invention asdefined in the claims.

I claim:

' 1. Pipe or tube welding apparatus including a retort comprising rightand left retort bodies through which the edges of the skelp are moved,said bodies being spaced transversely of the direction of movement ofthe skelp to permit the passage of tongs, and each of said bodies havinga lower section which extends under the skelp for a distance back fromthe edge to support the skelp, and an upper section covering the topsurface of the skelp adjacent the edge, means in the retort for heatingthe edge faces of the skelp as it passes through the retort bodies, andpivot connections on which the upper sections are movable with respectto the lower sections to uncover the edge portions? of the skelp so thatsaid skelp can be lifted out of the retort without obstruction.

2. Apparatus for heating the edges of skelp comprising a retort body foreach edge of the skelp, each retort body including upper and lowersections having spaced surfaces, above and below the skelp, for guidingthe edge portions of the skelp as they travel through said retortbodies, and torch means within the retort for strongly heating the edgeface of the skelp as it travels between said guide surfaces, and pivotconnections on which the upper sections rock withrespect to the lowersections into positions exposing the upper surface of the skelp acrossits entire width and when there is no skelp in the retort affordingaccess to the torch means and lower guide surfaces for cleaning.

3. A heating retort including lower sections having surfaces adapted tosupport the edge portions of a skelp as it moves through the retort, andupper sections spaced transversely of the direction of movement of theskelp and having surfaces extending over said edge portionsof the skelp,means in the retort for strongly heating the edge faces of the skelp asit travels through the retort between said surfaces of the upper andlower sections, and pivot connections on which the upper sections aremovable to uncover the skelp supporting surface of 'the lower section.

4. A heating retort including lower sections having surfaces adapted tosupport the edge portions of a skelp as it moves through the retort, thesupporting surfaces terminating short of the midportion of the skelp andhaving grooves for guiding hot gas across the under surface of the skelpand into the space between said lower sections, and upper sectionshaving surfaces above the supporting surfaces of the lower sections andin position to smooth out waves in the skelp and to serve as guides forhot gases flowing across the top surface of the edge portions of theskelp,-

torches in the retort on opposite sides of the skelp and in position todirect systems of flame against the edge faces of the skelp, and todirect the products of combustion inward through the grooves in thesurfaces of the lower sections and through the space between the skelpand the surfaces of the upper retort sections, and pivot connections onwhich the upper sections are movable to uncover the grooves of the lowersections and provide access to the torches for cleaning said grooves andtorches when there is no skelp in the retort.

5. In a heating retort through which skelp is moved to heat the edges,upper sections spaced transversely of the direction of movement of theskelp and having guide surfaces covering the top surface of the skelpadjacent the edges, lower sections extending under the skelp, and meansfor shifting said upper sections with respect to the lower sections andthe skelp to expose the top surface of the skelp across its entirewidth.

6. In a heating retort through which kelp is moved to heat the edges,upper sections having surfaces covering the top surface of the skelpadjacent the edges, abutments for holding the upper sections in suchrelation to the skelp, and means for moving the upper sections in adirection to clear the abutments and then moving said sectionstransversely of the skelp to uncover the upper surface of the skelp.

7. In a heating retort through which skelp is moved to heat the edges,upper sections having surfaces covering the top surface of the skelpadjacent the edges, abutments for holding the upper sections in suchrelation to the skelp, and means for moving the upper sections touncover the full width of the skelp, said means including commonoperating mechanism for successively moving the upper sections in adirection to clear the abutments and then transversely of the skelp.

8. A skelp heating retort including retort bodies for each edge of theskelp, each of said bodies including a fixed lower section having asurface for supporting the edge portion of the skelp, a movable uppersection having quadrants at its opposite ends and pivot connectionsbetween the quadrants and the fixed sections, means for retaining themovable section in a position covering the upper surface of the skelpfor a distance back from the edge, and means for releasing the movablesection from the retaining means and for shifting it into a position touncover the skelp.

9. Skelp heating apparatus comprising retort bodies in which the edgefaces of the skelp are heated, said bodies including means forsupporting the skelp and movable upper sections adapted to overlie thetop surface of the skelp adjacent the edges, latches for holding themovable sections in position overlying the edges of the skelp, and meansfor releasing the latches and moving the upper sections back fromtheskelp to expose the full width of said skelp.

10. Apparatus for heating the edges of a skelp comprising a retort'bodyextending along each side edge of the skelp, each retort body includinga fixed lower section having a supporting surface over which the skelptravels, a movable upper section with a surface spaced from but coveringthe top face of the skelp for a distance back from the edge of the skelpwhen the retort is closed, a torch located between the upper and lowersections of the retort body in position to direct a system of flameagainst the edge face of the skelp, means holding the torch in placewith passages above and below the torchfor the admission of air to burnenvelope gas from the flame system of the torch, transversely extendinggrooves in the skelp supporting surface for confining and guiding someof the products of combustion across the bottom face of the skelp, andmeans for moving the upper section transversely to open the retort bowand expose the grooves in the lower section and at least a portion ofthe torch and air passages.

11. A retort body comprising a longitudinally extending fixed lowersection having a surface for supporting the edge portion of a skelp' asit v travels through the retort body, a movable upper section overlyingthe lower section and having a surface substantially parallel to thesupporting surface of the lower section and spaced from said supportingsurface to permit the skelp to pass freely between said surfaces whenthe retort body is closed, quadrants connected to the ends of'the uppersection, pivot connections between the quadrants and a fixed part of theretort body, means to hold the upper section and quadrants in theirclosed positions, and mechanism for releasing the movable parts of theretort bodyfrom the holding means so that the quadrants rockv on theirpivot connections and .shift the upper section transversely of the skelpto open the retort body.

JAMES L. ANDERSON.

